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Miracle Man
"}} :This article is about the Miami Vice episode. For the character who goes by the name, see Georgie Esteban. "Miracle Man" is the nineteenth episode of Miami Vice's fifth season and the second of four "lost" episodes aired after the series finale "Freefall" aired. It premiered on June 21, 1989. Summary A man playing superhero spoils drug busts, and becomes the target of hitmen, hustlers and reporters. Plot A rip-off artist named Torres is late for a meet with Crockett & Tubbs, having stolen a shipment from Manuel Aguila & Carlos Perena. Torres shows and brings the drugs, when a voice commanding everyone to freeze, when a man wearing a "M" shirt calling himself "Miracle Man" tells everyone he will rid the city of drugs, and takes off after Torres. Crockett finds his "weapon" is a chocolate gun. At OCB, Tubbs thinks Torres is ready to roll on Aguila & Perena (because of the Miracle Man incident), despite their reputations as stone-cold killers. An APB is out on "Miracle Man", while Commissioner Henry Williford calls Tubbs & Switek to Metro because a reporter named Eric Terry wants to follow them around, capturing for video posterity a day in the life of a Miami Vice cop. Switek & Tubbs are hesitant, but Williford--interested in ratings and positive PR--overrule them, and leave with the "don't call us, we'll call you" cliche to Terry. Tubbs & Switek find Torres dead, and "Miracle Man" is inciting a crowd about the drug problems and wants the people to help him catch the dealers, then Switek & Tubbs bring him over and tell him to butt out of their investigations or end up in jail. Aguila & Perena are talking about developments, especially Miracle Man, and set a deal with Tubbs & Switek for that night. Izzy is doing a greenhouse scam when "Miracle Man" shows up, reveals himself as Jorge "Georgie" Esteban, Izzy's cousin, and they step inside for a papa double--"Hemingway's favorite drink", but Izzy warns him about Aguila & Perena, and that they will kill him if he keeps it up. Terry stops by and wants to get "Miracle Man's" message out on his show Society's Watchdog, but Izzy wants some compensation for his cousin to appear, or he'll take the story to Geraldo, Phil, Oprah, or Letterman. Inside a bar, Tubbs & Switek are watching Aguila when "Miracle Man" shows up to call him out again, then Terry shows up with his camera. Georgie is in OCB talking with the two Vice cops when they are called to Williford's office, where Terry wants to put them on (behind a screen) with "Miracle Man", Tubbs politely declines and they walk out, and meet up with Aguila, who wants to deal but Tubbs is reluctant because of all the publicity around him & "Miracle Man", and wants him to take them to Perena, but he refuses and they leave. While Georgie is on TV with Terry on his show, a minor player named Ricky drops off money to Perena, then gets roughed up while one of his men takes the money from the room, when Georgie jumps him, knocks him out, takes his money, and gives it to a crowd of people, while Izzy is selling T-shirts and other items. Tubbs & Switek ask Izzy about Georgie when Perena's muscle does a drive-by shooting. Georgie is taken into protective custody, when Switek & Tubbs head to their meet with Aguila & Perena, Georgie talks to Gina and finds the reason for his crusade: His daughter Theresa died from an OD, because she wanted to be like her father (a former user), and he wants to stop the dealers so more people don't end up like Theresa. Perena wants Tubbs & Switek to eliminate "Miracle Man", before he will deal. They return to where Georgie was stashed and find him gone and Gina locked in the bathroom, so Tubbs & Switek go see Izzy who tells them to try either the "Batcave" or Little Havana, Sector 60, or at a hospital. Gina & Trudy find that Georgie is a manic depressive, and may be trying to get something for the crashed state he's in, while he walks around on his down-side, Georgie calls Aguila and wants to meet, face-to-face, at Sheppard's Park. They do, and in the struggle Aguila pulls his gun out, but is shot dead. Georgie is completely out of it after the shooting, and his two other daughters are brought in to help him snap out of it, but it doesn't work, because he still hasn't gotten over Theresa's death, and is locked in a mental hospital. Perena is ready to deal now that "Miracle Man" is locked up, while Terry was on a payphone at the same time. Izzy (dressed up as a doctor) tries to see Georgie, knocks out a doctor and gets him out. Terry stops by to propose a TV series, and starts out by being involved in the Perena deal, including a new costume. The deal goes down, then Miracle Man shows up and a shootout entails, during which everyone is killed, including Perena & Georgie. When Terry shows up to say "somebody should do something" about Georgie, Switek knocks him out. Izzy is consoled by the team over the loss of his cousin. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo (credit only) Guest Stars *Jose Perez as Georgie "Miracle Man" Esteban *Zach Grenier as Eric Terry *John Castellanos as Carlos Perena *Daniel Rojo as Manuel Aguila *Conrad Roberts as Commissioner Henry Williford *Martin Ferrero as Isadore "Izzy" Moreno Co-Starring *Rod Ball as Orderly *Joe Bernal as Ruiz *Madeline Colon as Amy *Robert Escobar as Torres *R. Emmett Fitzsimmons as Metro-Dade Sergeant Taylor *Bob Gerchen as D.A. Hoffman *Anne Lynn Kettles as Markham *Gy Mirano as Maria *Jaime V. Rodriguez as Kid *Fara Schiller as Reporter Notes *Edward James Olmos (Castillo) does not appear at all in this episode, his absence explained by his being in Orlando testifying in a case with Crockett. Crockett himself only appears in the opening sequence. *Three months before the episode aired, the reality series COPS premiered on FOX, doing exactly what Eric Terry is doing in this episode, the difference being the FOX series mainly followed black and white units, only rarely getting involved with undercover work. That first episode was based in Miami-Dade County's neighbor Broward. *Of the four talk shows Izzy mentions his cousin could appear on, none of them are on-air as of 2019 -- Letterman ran from 1982-1993 on NBC as Late Night with David Letterman, then from 1993-2015 on CBS as The Late Show with David Letterman, Oprah lasted from 1986-2011, Geraldo lasted from 1987-1998, and Donahue from 1970-1996. *Another South Beach hotel, The Clevelander (visible when Tubbs and Switek speak to Aguila in the street), was renovated after Vice ''went off the air and is now one of the largest luxury hotels in South Beach. *This episode contains the only Monty Python joke in the series, when Izzy says that Jorge worked at a hospital called "Pine Valley, or Pine Sol, or pining for the fjords." The famous Monty Python "dead parrot" sketch featured a pet store owner attempting to claim that a dead parrot was still alive, but "pining for the fjords." *Singer/songwriter Mickey Zetts was uncredited for his appearance as the drug dealer peddling crank on the playground. Goofs * Just before Aguilar runs into the street to meet Tubbs and Switek to set up another meet, a car can be seen blocking the road for the shoot. Production Notes *Filmed: February 16, 1989 - February 27, 1989 *Production Code: 63921 *Production Order: 108 Filming Locations *Construction site on Claughton Island, Miami (Opening deal where "Miracle Man" makes his debut) *4731 Pinetree Drive, Miami Beach (Perena's House) *Southshore Apartments, 1525 Pennsylvania Ave, Miami Beach (Torres' Apartment) *4066 Malaga Avenue, Coconut Grove (Izzy's house) *Espanola Way/Drexel Ave, Miami Beach (Miracle Man throws money to crowd) *Nemo Hotel, 116 Collins Ave, Miami Beach (Safe House) *Clevelander Hotel, 1020 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Tubbs/Switek speak with Aguila) *South Pointe Park, Alton Rd+Biscayne Street, Miami Beach ("Miracle Man" and Aguila fight) *Miami Beach Police Department, 1100 Washington Ave, Miami Beach (Police Station-Exterior) *Les Violins Club, 1751 Biscayne Blvd, Miami (Club where "Miracle Man" is killed) Music *"Nande" by La Familia André (playing in bar) Quotes *"Bet this has a lot of kick to it!" -- ''Crockett before taking a bite out of "Miracle Man's" 'weapon' *"Hey, Tubby, I heard you had a close encounter of the weird kind!" -- Switek *"This guy thinks that gun control means being able to hit your target." -- Izzy describing Manuel Aguilar to Georgie Category:Season 5 episodes Category:Episodes with absent cast members